Manchester City defeated Leicester in the FA Cup third round replay at Eastlands - but Blues fans were given another scare by the Foxes.

Manchester City defeated Leicester in the FA Cup third round replay at Eastlands - but Blues fans were given another scare by the Foxes.

Goals from Carlos Tevez, Patrick Vieira, Adam Johnson and Aleks Kolarov ensured the Blue set up a trip to Notts County in the next round.

The Blues were ahead after just 15 minutes when in-form Tevez struck his 16th goal of the season, but when Vieira was adjudged to have fouled Lloyd Dyer, Paul Gallagher levelled from the spot.

Vieira and Johnson struck in quick succession just before the break before Tevez blasted a second-half penalty straight at Chris Weale.

Dyer struck late on to give City another uncomfortable finish - following on from Saturday's 4-3 win over Wolves - but Kolarov's first goal for the Blues ensured their progress.

Once again this tie, with all its redolence of 1969, was tinged with sadness as City players and fans again paid touching tribute to the hero of that FA Cup final, Neil Young.

The players emerged from the tunnel all wearing red and black striped shirts bearing his name and their own squad numbers – they will be auctioned off to raise money for the Neil Young Appeal.

Fans donned their red and black scarves in honour of their erstwhile hero, and to raise funds for him and for cancer research. There were also bucket collections, a souvenir programme and a tribute on the big screen

City had hoped Neil, suffering from terminal cancer, would be well enough to attend the game after returning home from a spell in hospital.

But he had to watch on television as he was simply too ill to be there, but the tribute added a poignancy and a sense of history.

Of course, the perfect way to honour one of their stars of yesteryear would be to lift the famous old trophy for the first time since that May day 41 years ago.

And City stayed on course for that with a competent display, lit up by the goalscoring genius of Tevez and the sumptuous passing of David Silva.

And yet it was Leicester who set the early pace, Andy King, who snapped up the equaliser in the original game with an assist from Joe Hart, seeing his shot deflected onto the roof of the net.

In an open, flowing first half, Tevez sent Johnson away with a superb reverse ball, but the England man slipped just as he cocked back his leg to shoot, and the chance slipped away.

Chances were coming thick and fast at both ends, as Joleon Lescott, deceived by King's glancing header, almost chested the ball past Hart, who recovered to grab in the nick of time.

Then, as usual, Tevez took a hand in proceedings.

Collecting a throw-in out on the right, he turned cleverly away from Yuki Abe, got a slice of luck as Jack Hobbs' challenge deflected into his path, but then he exploded onto the ball.

Keeper Weale was directly in line with his rising drive, but could only touch the shot as it rocketed past him and tested the integrity of the net.

But the expected City deluge did not come.

Equaliser

Leicester picked up an equaliser from nothing as Dyer drifted in from the right wing, Vieira unwisely jerked out a leg and the winger accepted the invitation to tumble at the merest of contacts.

Gallagher accepted the gift with a thumping spot kick, and we were back to square one.

Nigel de Jong spoke this week about the need for players other than Tevez to step up when inspiration is needed, and City have several.

But on this occasion it was again Tevez who was behind City's second goal, this time as creative maestro rather than finisher.

His sweeping 35-yard pass to Pablo Zabaleta out-flanked the massed Leicester defence, and when the full back smartly pulled the ball back, Silva was waiting to fire goalwards.

The shot was blocked on the line by Sol Bamba's lunge, but the ball popped neatly into Vieira's path to stab in his first FA Cup goal for five years. Anyone looking for omens should note that the last time the Frenchman scored in this competition, his Arsenal team went on to win the final, beating United on penalties at the Millennium Stadium.

Within a minute the Blues were almost home and hosed. This time it was Silva displaying his class with a perfectly-weighted pass down the middle of the defence for Johnson to skate through.

He kept his poise and finished expertly.

Tevez should have sealed it when he raced clear and was up-ended by Hobbs in the area.

But for the second successive time, he missed from the spot. Against Blackpool, he hooked it wide, this time he drilled it, but too close to Weale, who saved with his legs.

Leicester took advantage of such profligacy, re-awakening memories of the way the Blues almost hashed it against Wolves on Saturday.

Yuki Abe played a one-two off ref Mark Halsey and slid a pass for the pacy Dyer. Vincent Kompany would normally have made it, but he looked leggy as he went to ground and failed to get proper contact.

Dyer ran through to despatch the ball past Hart and give the fans another nervy ten minutes.

The butterflies were calmed by Kolarov, slamming in his first goal for the club from the edge of the area just when it seemed a City counter-attack had been wasted.
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